A Flame in the Darkness
by Opaque Sky
Summary: Samantha Bennett has found herself in possession of a powerful metagene the Reach plans on using to their advantage. After her mysterious disappearance, childhood friend Richard Grayson (now Nightwing) can't help but investigate. After her recovery, Sam learns to cope with her powers, and build a relationship with the friend she had thought she had lost. Nightwing/OC. Romance.
1. Chapter 1: The Chase

**A Flame in the Darkness**

Chapter One: The Chase

It had been a long night for Samantha Bennett. The full time college student was struggling to find words to describe what she had been through. A blustering roommate had entered her dormitory earlier before, drunker than she had ever seen before. She was covered head to toe in sweat. Apparently Friday night had much more interesting things in store for Sam's roommate, Eliza. It had taken her an hour to calm down. Samantha had pressed her to take a shower. The judgment impaired girl didn't pay notice when the knob had turned to cold water. Sam was half surprised she didn't leap out in shock- but stayed under the cascading coolness. Thank God for the essay that she had due the day after next that she hadn't even started on yet. Thank God she didn't go to that party. Samantha shivered at the thought of her awkwardly trying to mingle without clinging to Eliza.

After a while, her best friend, her comrade in arms, her partner in crime- had finally fallen asleep on Samantha's own dorm bed. Of course, Sam didn't mind. The girl was clean. However, after an hour or so of peaceful sleep, Eliza woke up complaining of a massive headache. "God damn, Gotham University sure knows how to throw a party," the red-headed teen stated. Samantha rolled her eyes. Eliza was only nineteen- approximately a half year older than her own eighteen year old self. The underage drinking had to come to a stop. Of course, Samantha found herself going to G.U.'s many parties, yet just for the dancing and socializing. Drinking had never been her thing. "That's what you get, Liz," Sam replied.

"I'm not going to make it, Sam. This is the end," Eliza said dramatically. Another sarcastic roll of the eyes came from her auburn-haired friend. "I'll get you some Tylenol." Samantha stood up and reached for the pill bottle on her bedside table, only to have her heart fall she felt the lightness of the container. Empty. "Damn. Sorry Liz, all out tonight." Eliza replied with a groan. "The store should have some. Across the road."

Samantha shot her a look that said, "are you dumb?". A glance at the clock revealed her fear. "Eliza. It's two in the morning. We're in Gotham- let alone the University campus, mind you. We're smack in the middle of the city. Do I need to remind you about the crime rate…? I'll just borrow some from Rebecca-" Eliza quickly interjected. "Gone for the weekend. So is the entire wing, it seems." "Dear God, you're just asking for me to get mugged, aren't you?" Samantha said and stood up. She slid on her running sneakers, just in case, and slipped on a light jacket to protect her from the autumn air. "If I'm not back in thirty minutes, call the cops. I'm just going across the road." Eliza flashed a lazy thumbs-up in agreement. With a heavy sigh, she snatched up her dorm keys and cell phone and left the building.

It was much cooler outside than she had expected it to be. The brisk fall wind scratched at every patch of unclothed skin as she walked. It was a paved pathway for most of the way there. The store sat just across the road, in view even as she left her dorm building. Thankfully, the dorms were close to the edge of campus. Something felt odd about this time of night, however. Usually there were students milling about coming from and going to parties- the weird kids who hang out by the clock tower in the early hours of the morning were strangely absent- the only sounds were of her own footsteps, and the wind breathing through the trees. It was ominous. Samantha tucked her hands closely into the pockets of her jacket as she traversed on. She had reached the edge of campus now, and was approached with a city street. She looked both ways, and began to cross. But as she crossed, the lights of the little convenience store fluttered out. Inside and outside- even the four little gas pumps seemed to lose power. Her curiosity and nervousness had reached a new high. As she approached the store, there was no sign of life inside. No cashier, no clerk- the doors were even locked. "Damn!" Samantha swore to herself.

As the teen turned around, she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. Something dark. She turned around completely to see a strange, shadowy figure standing about ten yards away. "Hello?" Samantha shouted out. Her hand grasped around her cell phone in her pocket, ready to call 911. The figure remained silent. In fact, several other figures emerged from the darkness. "_Son of a bitch; I told you Eliza."_ At that, Samantha took off in a dash. All those years of high-school track had led up to this moment. The once crisp air now bit at any exposed skin. Neck, hands, face, ears- all of it was quickly becoming numb; either with fear, or with the cold, Samantha wasn't sure. All she knew was that she needed a safe place. Now.

There was only one place she knew of that wasn't too far off- it was a newly created Reach Medical Clinic; it was open all day and night, every day and weekend, as the advertisements stated. Right now, it was her only chance. She took off in that direction, with her pursuers hot behind her. Her hand slipped into her pocket to get the police on the line- only to find that it had somehow slipped out during the run. A jacket with shallow pockets was never a good idea. Samantha swore loudly, but continued on.

As the medical center was in eyesight, she found herself quickly out of breath. Her legs had had all they could take. Never once before had she felt this exhausted and out of breath. Footsteps clambered behind her. This was the end, she decided, as she collapsed to the ground. She would be mugged- killed- no one would notice until tomorrow. She was positive that Eliza had passed out on her bed again; that she was sleeping like a baby without a worry in the world. Her vision quickly faded to black.

((Woo for cliffhangers! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter of my Young Justice series. I plan to get a chapter up every day, but we'll see how that works with my college/work schedule. I love writing this so far, so it should be no problem! Not much action in this chapter, but next chapter we'll see Samantha meet the team. Things will get interesting, I promise.))

-OpaqueSky


	2. Chapter 2: The Wake Up

**Chapter 2: The Wake Up**

There was darkness, and the sound of chattering. However, the chattering…wasn't human. It sounded foreign, almost alien-like- it hit her. She had made it. Her eyes flew open, revealing the calm colors of the health clinic. "I…I made it," she managed to sputter out. There was the light sound of footsteps approaching her. Soon enough, two of the Reach agents were standing over her. She still hadn't gotten quite used to an alien race actually providing public service to humans, other than the Justice League of course. One of them was pale green in color, and appeared masculine. The other was a brighter shade of blue in comparison, and seemed more feminine. The pair beamed at her. "You have awakened." The man said.

"Yes…what happened?" Samantha said and sat up on the medical like bed she had been placed on. Strangely, she was in a windowless room away from the main entrance of the center. "Our lookout had spotted you from a distance; running away from humans in black. We intervened. Your pursuers have been taken into human custody."

Samantha gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Thank you so much." With that, another Reach member approached with a digital looking clipboard. The feminine woman took the board and nodded, sending him off. "As you've been in our care for over four hours, human customs require that we collect basic information from you. What is your name and human age?"

"Samantha Nicole Bennett. Eighteen."

The questions seemed to go on for a few minutes, asking everything from any previous medical conditions, allergies, and where she lived. Finally, a question caught her that she had trouble explaining.

"Parental contacts?"

Samantha looked down. "Deceased. Both of them."

The Reach remained emotionless. "Was the cause of death medical related?"

"Smoke inhalation and burns."

It had sparked a memory in her. The house fire had happened when she was thirteen. She had been a smart kid, and knew how to throw her mattress out the window to cushion her fall from the second story home. The tree across the road had been their meet up spot. Unfortunately, she was the only one who made it to that tree. With childish, emerald green eyes, she looked upon the burning building, hoping every second that her parents would emerge.

Samantha shook the memory off. The questions ended after that, and the Reach left the room for a few moments. The teenager, desperate to get back to her dorm, stood up and roamed around the big room. It was obviously a patient holding area, as the bed she was laying on wasn't the only one there. There were dozens! Where was everyone? These places had trouble getting everyone in because of the free healthcare, and it had to be daylight by now. She reached for the door the Reach had exited from, only to find it locked. She swore. Something was definitely going on.

Pulling, grabbing, twisting desperately, she attempted to open the door. Just as she felt the need to kick it down, it opened. "Hi, I really need a telephone to call my best friend. She's probably worried sick that I'm gone. The two looked at each other, and began talking rapidly in the clicks and noises of their language. "I apologize, Samantha, but we cannot allow you to do so. Just an hour longer, and we will be able to release you." Samantha shot them a look of confusion. "Why is that? You got your information, why can't I leave?"

They completely ignored the question. "Please, help yourself to the refreshments in the room. It shouldn't be too much longer." "Wait!" She called after them, but they had exited already, not leaving a second for her to intercept the open door. With a grunt, she kicked a nearby bed. "I want to go home."

As they had said, there were countertops in the corner of the room, which housed many cans of their new soda brand- Reach. How appropriate. The drink was pretty good, she had to admit. Eliza had bought a whole case to store in their dorm, and often times it was the only thing they had to drink. The mango flavor had been her favorite. Seeing the familiar flavor adorned on the can, she snatched it up and cracked it open. The flavorful carbonation sizzled down her throat, quenching her thirst. Another sigh escaped her lips. It was going to be a long hour.

After fifteen or so minutes, Samantha found herself back on her bed. Might as well sleep the time away, she had thought. Unfortunately for her, other things were in store. There was a dull boom, like the sound the central heating made in her dorm when it kicked on. There was only one air vent, from what she saw, which began emitting a bluish smoke. She sat her drink down and stood up. "I think there's a problem! If you can hear me! There's some type of smoke-" Mid-sentence, she began coughing hysterically. Her vision began to fade and sway. Her legs began to give out. Once again, she found herself falling to the ground.

The night had been too long. The nineteen year old had been through enough tonight. Seeing the news was the icing on the cake. He had just gotten back to the empty warehouse no one else wanted to call home. However, it was all he had. After taking a rest on the couch, he flipped on the television to get away from reality. Unfortunately for Richard Grayson, reality was about to slap him in the face once more.

It was a breaking news coverage- a blonde news anchor stood in front of what he recognized to be Gotham University. Several students were standing alongside her; amongst them was a red headed girl who seemed to be in tears. Richard leaned in closer to listen. "Authorities are still investigating the disappearance of Gotham University freshman Samantha Nicole Bennett, who was last seen over a week ago when she made a trip 'just across the road' according to her dorm mate Eliza Roberts has reported." That name; Richard had heard it somewhere, he was sure of it. It was only when the picture of the missing teen flashed upon the television screen when he knew. He immediately stood to his feet. She had grown up so much since then. Her once short hair now fell to her mid back; auburn and wavy. Her eyes had grown with a green intensity she didn't possess as a child. Her build had grown, and her face had matured. She was beautiful. A girl like her missing in Gotham City was never good; especially for this long.

The anchor was now interviewing the girl named Eliza, who was introduced as her dorm roommate. The interview was taking place in the dorm itself. "I miss her so much…she told me to call if she was gone longer than a few minutes…but I couldn't help it. I fell asleep! I feel so horrible!" The girl broke down into tears again. Richard began to pace the room. Who could have gotten their hands on her?

The flashback came quickly. He had been in seventh grade at Gotham Academy. It was the first day of classes, and he of course, had arrived late. The hallways were empty, and there was no definite way to know which way he was going to get to class. After what had seemed like an hour of running around, he stumbled upon a girl, who couldn't have been much younger than him. She had straight cut auburn hair reached just below her ears; a style more mature for someone her age. He couldn't help but ask what was wrong. "Are you alright?" The girl looked up with a red, puffy face. "I don't know where my classroom is. I went to the library and got lost on the way back," she said through tears. Her fingers clutched a fantasy fiction novel. He smiled. "It's okay. I'm lost too. We'll find our way together. I'm Dick Grayson," he said and held out a hand. "Samantha Bennett," she replied and took his hand. After that, the two had become inseparable for a few years, until he had to leave school for the team.

The memory gave him goosebumps. She was such a good person, and a great friend to him. Something had to be done. Of course, people went missing every day in Gotham. Trying to get a group together to find her would get shot down by Batman before he even got out his reasoning. He needed some type of link; some evidence of some sort. He turned back to the interview of Eliza. Of course, she was still crying for the camera. Richard sat down and pressed his hand into his face. This was going to be difficult.

Just as he was about to turn off the television and turn in for the night, he noticed something odd in the dorm room Eliza was being interviewed in. Two empty cases of "Reach" soda. Immediately, he ran to the other side of the warehouse and dug around in the old files until he found a map of Gotham City. He pinpointed the location of the University, and cross referenced it with a newly received map of Reach locations amongst the city. "Son of a bitch," he said aloud as he realized the closeness of the two. He had formed a hypothesis, and hopefully it would be enough to convince Batman to assemble a team. If not, he would assemble one himself. Quickly he went over to a computer and entered several access codes to establish a video link with Batman. His mentor was quick to answer. "What is it?"

"I have evidence linking the disappearance of Samantha Bennett and the Reach."

**((Author's Note: WOW! One chapter up and I already have three follows and two favorites? I feel so loved. :D**

**Thanks a lot to syed, Porcelain Maiden, and KreativeGirl for the follows, If I Can Be and hazelstorm92 for the favorites, and piggythelaw for the review asking for more. Also, feedback is very important to me, so feel free to leave a review telling me what you like, and what you love. Thanks a bunch everyone!**

**Still building up the story a bit, but hopefully I left enough of a cliffhanger for you. I know I said she'd meet the team in this chapter, but I think I'll save it for Chapter 3. Hope you enjoyed it! :)**

**-Opaque Sky))**


	3. Chapter 3: The Rescue

**Chapter 3: The Rescue**

"The Gotham teenager?" Batman asked. "Yes. She's been missing for over a week. I noticed something interesting in an interview with her friend- more than a few empty cases of Reach soda. I cross referenced the location of the University to the nearest Reach facility, and it seems to be more than coincidence to me," Nightwing said. Batman appeared to be in thought. "You're saying she's been abducted by the Reach because she's developed a metagene, yet I'm not seeing any definite connection to the Reach. Yes, she soda boxes are a link, but that doesn't necessarily mean that's who abducted her. It's Gotham City, Nightwing. You know what happens there. The Reach isn't the only villain out there."

Nightwing slammed his fist into the table. "I'm telling you, it sounds bad to me. A girl like this just can't go missing. Something is really wrong here, I just have a feeling," Nightwing retaliated. Batman looked down. "You know this girl…don't you?" Nightwing nodded. "Please…Bruce…she was my closest friend in middle school. I had to leave her with no reason. She doesn't deserve this- whatever has happened to her." Once again, Batman looked down. "Assemble a small, and I mean _small_, covert ops team. Do your research in the surrounding area, and report findings back to me before you even think of invading any Reach grounds. Understood?" Nightwing nodded. "Yes. We'll leave tomorrow night."

"Blue, Robin, I'm recruiting you two for a special mission." The two of them perked up at Nightwing's words. "Special mission?" Robin retorted. Nightwing walked over to a computer screen, and began to launch into his plan. Investigate the surrounding areas of the University, including the place the police found her cell phone and many pairs of footprints, and finally, the Reach center he was suspicious about. "And Batman almost shot this mission down? I see no hurt in taking a look," Blue Beetle said. "So it's just us two?" Robin asked. "I'm coming along too."

Robin froze. It wasn't like Nightwing to go along on missions like this unless it was extremely important. In his head, the kid figured it was just a basic search and recover mission, but he could tell that his mentor wasn't treating it as such. Something big was up.

The trio traveled to Gotham City via Zeta Tube the following night.

"This place looks like a ghost town," Blue Beetle said at the sight of the University's campus. "Every time I see this place it's usually alive with people going to and from parties. It's Saturday night after all," Robin responded as the three of them crossed the road to reach the area the police had designated as the only source of evidence to Samantha's disappearance. "The college put in a strict curfew after she vanished," Nightwing responded. Robin looked down. The sheer frustration in Nightwing's voice was starting to upset him. Blue Beetle, however, had already figured out why he was so disappointed. He knew this girl somehow, and the disappearance was frustrating him. He decided to use his best judgment and not ask Nightwing if his assumption was true.

Nightwing removed some type of tracking device from his utility belt and began scanning the ground. Robin began searching the area for any missed evidence, and Blue Beetle activated a similar scanning tool on his mask. "Wouldn't any prints be trampled by now?" Blue asked. Nightwing looked up. "No, the police have had this area roped off for the last week. Tonight was the first night it's not been designated a crime scene." Blue nodded and continued searching. In his view, a certain imprint in the ground dragged his attention. The Scarab quickly analyzed it. "Human female running shoe print, size 7."

"Hey Nightwing, I got something over here. Size 7 women's running shoe prints." Blue called out. Nightwing looked up. "According to the Scarab, they continue off in this direction," He said, pointing away from the scene. "Weird. I'm not picking up any prints in that direction. Are you sure?" Blue nodded. "The Scarab is positive." "Let's go."

After a few minutes, the Scarab had led the trio in the direction Nightwing was hoping for. Soon enough, the Reach clinic was in sight. "The tracks stop here," Blue said. Robin had uneasiness in his stomach. "Invading more Reach grounds; thank God we don't have Arsenal here."

_"Do your research in the surrounding area and report findings back to me before you even think of invading any Reach grounds. Understood?"_ Batman's voice rang throughout Nightwing's mind. Tracks leading in this direction wouldn't convince him, he knew that with how stubborn his mentor was. If he reported back, Batman would abort the mission. If he didn't…he would at least be able to follow his intuition and only hope he was right. "Let's go," Nightwing said without regret.

When Samantha finally woke up, she was in some type of orange-ish colored tube. Her hands and feet were restrained, keeping her from making any attempt at escape. The claustrophobia began to set in. _"Breathe, Samantha. Just breathe,"_ she thought over and over to herself. She began to feel her heart rate increasing, and a slight sweat began to form on her brow. A quick observation revealed that she was in some sort of lab, much different than the clinic she had been in previously. Those creepy aliens were roaming around all over the place, clicking in their foreign language. When one glanced over her way, she quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. What was happening here?!

Robin had found an entranceway into the facility via an air vent in the side of the building. Blue Beetle had confirmed that there was no form of security on the outside of the building, which Nightwing considered very suspicious. As the three of them crawled through the spacious air vents, they began to hear strange noises; mostly machinery, but Nightwing heard the sound of their alien language very faintly. "We need to move down," he whispered. "This way."

Minutes of navigation brought them to an air vent that was located directly underground, Nightwing assumed. A nearby air grate revealed the scene below; much like the one they had been to only weeks beforehand when rescuing a batch of teenagers who had also been abducted. Except this one was slightly different. The lab was smaller, and only one tube was present. Blue Beetle zoomed in on the single orange tube in the room. The girl inside was a direct match to the picture Nightwing had showed them. "There's our girl."

Nightwing's heart skipped a beat. There she was, just as he had predicted. She seemed to be unconscious… The Reach members walked over to her tube occasionally, punching in information on a computer and speaking rapidly in their language. He wished they knew what they were saying- he felt dumb right after thinking it. "Blue, translation please."

"Way ahead of you; they're talking about her having some type of metagene that could revolutionize the war… something about… energy manipulation. Fire being just the beginning. I can barely keep up with them. They sound really…excited."

"We're getting her out. _Now._"

With that, Nightwing opened the air grate and jumped into the room below.

**(Wooo! I am absolutely blown away by all these favorites, reviews, and follows. It means so much to me that I actually have an audience! It seriously encourages me to write like I never have before. Anyway, sorry for the no update yesterday- Fridays will most likely become my "off" day as it's usually the day I get all my college homework done before the weekend. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I already have chapter 4 going so it'll be up tomorrow. Be sure to follow, favorite, and review! Thanks!**

**-Opaque Sky))**


	4. Chapter 4: The Phoenix

**Chapter 4: The Phoenix**

It all happened so quickly that Samantha couldn't comprehend what exactly was going on. Several figures jumped from the ceiling clad in dark colors. They moved so quickly that her eyes couldn't keep track of them. The Reach were scrambling for weapons. A few of them quickly ran over to where her tube was and began punching buttons. As they were pressed, a needle ejected itself from inside the tube and prodded her immobile arm. She yelled in pain and frustration as she tried helplessly to wiggle free.

"_Begin the extraction process! Let the girl die, but save the metagene!"_ Blue Beetle looked over to where he had heard the fatal words. He looked over to see Nightwing alongside Robin, still tackling the Reach, who seemed to flow in by the dozens now. He swore as he ran over to where Samantha was only guarded by a few people. Quickly he disposed of them with his sonic cannon before pressing a hand to the tube. "Are you alright?"

"No, there's…there's some type of needle in here!" Samantha cried back. "Nightwing, Robin! A little help over here!" Blue shouted across the room as he tried to decipher the mechanism he had been trapped in only weeks before. Unfortunately, the tubes seemed to have been reinforced, and he was unable to break into it on his own. "Go and help Blue. I can hold them off for a few," Robin said quickly as he knocked another two Reach members down. Nightwing nodded and ran over to Blue Beetle and pressed his hands against the glass of the tube.

There she was; the very same as in the picture- except she was struggling to break free.

_"Holy shit! That's Nightwing!"_ Samantha thought to herself. Was she really special enough to receive this type of search and rescue squad?

Robin grunted from behind them. "Hurry!"

Blue Beetle and Nightwing desperately punched the buttons and tried to pry open the tube. Inside, Samantha began to develop a sweat. Her hands and feet felt like they were on fire. "Hurry! Something's- happening!"

"Damn!" Nightwing shouted and pounded on the glass once more. The intensity of the burning feeling had spread to her chest now. The stress, the fear, the worry- it all had built up to the extent of needing release. She squeezed her eyes shut in fear. She just wanted it all to stop- the sound- the lights- the yelling. Nothing in the world she wanted more than to be back on her dorm bed with a book cracked open, and the sound of Eliza snoring like a bear from underneath her bunk bed.

It happened.

Her eyes shot open to see a shocked Nightwing and Blue Beetle. They both began stepping back. It was the last thing she remembered.

"What's wrong with her eyes?!" Blue Beetle shouted. Nightwing only stared in fear. The girl's once emerald eyes had turned to a blazing red and orange. Fire began to creep up in the tube. Robin ran over. "She's burning! We have to get her out of there!" The fire crawled up her body and over her skin, but Samantha did not scream. Her skin was still unblemished- untouched- as if the fire was nothing. The restraints on her began…melting…

All hell broke loose. The tube shattered. The girl was now enveloped in flames, which spread to every possible surface around her. The place was igniting like dry kindling on a summer's day. "We have to get out of here, "Robin said as Nightwing and Blue Beetle stared in shock as the girl began rising into the air. "But what about her?" Blue asked. "The fire isn't burning her, and I don't need the Scarab to tell me that it'll burn us to a crisp!"

Nightwing hesitated. The girl was in some sort of helpless, fiery trance…but Blue was right. There was nothing they could do about it at the moment. Quickly, the trio dashed into the nearest hallways which thankfully lead them to the upper level. "Get outside!" Robin shouted once the exit was in sight.

When the three ended up at a safe distance away from the building, they stared in awe as the entire place began to burn. Media crews began to arrive, as well as police and firefighters. A small crowd of students were gathering at the edge of the University campus to see what was going on. They quickly dipped into the shadows.. "At least we found her. And _obviously_, she has a metagene," Robin said through a sarcastic laugh. "Batman is going to kill me," Nightwing muttered.

Blue and Robin stifled laughter, until a large crash was heard. An enormous flame, in the shape of a bird, emitted from the burning building and high into the sky- and in the center of it was Samantha. Nightwing's eyes widened. The crowd of press and civilians gasped aloud. The bird figure remained for a few seconds, before diminishing, letting the ashes, as well as Samantha, fall down. "I got her!" Blue shouted and flew off into the sky, catching her with not much time to spare.

When he returned with the girl in his arms, Nightwing demanded that they leave the scene immediately. The press was beginning to wonder what the mysterious figure was, and began searching the area. Once at a safe distance, Nightwing looked over her for any injuries. Surprisingly, there were no cuts, no burns; no injury of any sort. What they did notice, however, was her burning temperature. "We need to cool her down- where do we take her from here?" Nightwing shook his head. "Back to the temporary HQ. She can't go back to being normal again- not if the Reach is looking for her."

Thankfully, a Zeta Tube was nearby, letting them have a quick escape. Back at HQ, she was cooled down and was finally allowed to be laid on a bed without searing the sheets. Samantha was still unconscious. Nightwing sat by her side in the warehouse they called HQ, deep in thought with his head in his palms. Blue Beetle came to his side. "When are we going to explain this to Batman?"

The deep voice from behind him said it all. "Now." Nightwing's face turned white as he looked up to see the black-caped mentor standing behind Blue Beetle.

Thankfully, Batman had been merciful- somewhat. Although they had successfully recovered an abducted teen, they had caused a media uproar. G. Gordon Godfrey had been on the scene, capturing video of the flame, Samantha (although unidentifiable at the distance he had been filming from), and the three of them running away. The slamming of the Justice League began once again.

There had to be a change in Samantha's life once she woke up, the pair had decided. Her metagene, whatever it was, had to be kept out of Reach hands. Her newfound abilities had been proven to be dangerous, and Batman had demanded a full training schedule for her to control herself, as well as defend herself. Once she had proven herself able, Samantha would be able to return to her normal life. Until then, she became a part of the team.

**((Woo! Again, you all are awesome for following and putting my story on your favorites list. It all means so much to me! :) Hope you enjoy this chapter; I know I'm glad I'm done writing it because now we're finally past the "introduction" stages of course. Actual interaction ensues. I promise, it'll be worth the wait. :)**

**Be sure to review! Thanks for reading! :D**

**-Opaque Sky))**


	5. Chapter 5: The Realization

**Chapter 5: The Realization **

Chapter 5: The Realization

Samantha's eyes finally fluttered open. The place she was in was…strange. It looked like an old, beaten down warehouse- well, the ceiling looked like it anyway. There was a green colored privacy curtain around the single bed she had been laying on. She shook her head as she tried to figure out what had happened. There was fire, people screaming, loud noises…

A beeping noise caught her off guard. There was the sound of quick footsteps, and the curtain was drawn. The person behind it was none other than Nightwing himself, the one who she had seen that night in the attempted rescue; as well as on TV numerous times before. She rephrased her thoughts- the successful rescue. They had to have gotten her out if she were sitting there now.

"You're awake. Good. How do you feel?" He quickly asked as he took a step closer. "I feel… a little feverish; and my side is aching- it's like I've been hit by a train," Samantha said as she rubbed her side. Nightwing smiled. "That was some hit you took by Blue. He barely caught you," Nightwing said. Samantha stared at him, confused. "What do you mean… hit? Barely caught me?"

Nightwing looked down. What he had expected had happened. "You don't remember anything, do you?" Samantha noticed the worry in his voice. "Why? What happened? I remember seeing you while I was still in that tube…and it's all gone from there." Nightwing's mind was a flurry on how to tell her. Explaining her metagene had to happen, but he decided against telling her about losing control like she did. It would be a terrifying experience for her- knowing she was that powerful, this early.

"Samantha, you've developed a metagene. In short, you have powers now. The extent of them- is classified at the moment. What we do know is that you need to be kept under close watch for now."

Samantha wasn't buying the story. "Close watch? What was up with the Reach taking me captive? Why did they need me? It all isn't adding up, and I'd really like to just go home," Samantha said sternly and stood up from her bed. Nightwing placed a hand on her shoulder. "I can't let you do that, Sam." Her eyes narrowed. "Hero or not, you're not holding me captive here. Thanks for getting me out of there- I really can't express that enough- but it's time for me to go." Samantha pulled back the curtain and walked past Nightwing to where she saw an exit door. Not once did she turn back on her way, until her hand touched the door knob. Nightwing spoke.

"Leave, and the Reach will find you. We're not quite sure why they need you, but things could get bad if they get what they want. You'll be in danger. Eliza will be in danger."

Samantha took a deep sigh. There was no way she was putting Eliza in danger. She had no part in this. She stood, frozen, with one hand on the doorknob, still deciding. By that time, Nightwing had walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're not the only one, Sam. Teens have been vanishing all over cities across the nation, all at the hands of the Reach." Samantha turned around. "But why?! What do they need with us?" Nightwing looked down again. "Come sit down. There are some things you need to know about."

For about an hour, the pair talked. Nightwing explained everything to her- from the first discovery of an invasion, to the metagene-developing soda that gave her the powers she had; although Nightwing only revealed that her powers were somewhat fire-based, and were believed to be hard-wired into her emotions.

"Unfortunately, STAR labs has enough teens being trained in their hands to be able to train you, so I've taken that task upon myself," Nightwing explained. An uneasy feeling was in his stomach as he remembered the actual conversation with the scientists. "After seeing what she did to that building? No way. Especially not after Tye."

"In the case that the Reach comes after you again, you need to be properly trained to defend yourself. I'm sure you're exhausted still, so we will wait until tomorrow. Until then, you need to stay inside the warehouse. I'll order pizza or something later." Samantha laughed. It was strange… all this talk of heroes and villains…the seriousness of a situation and of Nightwing himself, and then…ordering pizza. "Pepperoni sounds good," she said through a smile and returned back to her bed.

She could only wish that the smile had been genuine. Right now, all she wanted was to go back to a normal life. Unfortunately, she hadn't quite accepted the fact that it probably wouldn't happen. The girl quickly fell back asleep.

What felt like only a few minutes later, there was a tap on her shoulder. It was Nightwing again. "Hey, pizza's here, if you feel up to eating," he said. Samantha sat up. "Isn't it weird, asking for pizza to be delivered to a place like this? Isn't this, secret HQ or something?" Nightwing laughed. "Only temporary secret HQ that is. Besides, I went and picked it up." "I was alone for a while?" Sam replied. Again, Nightwing laughed. "No, I wouldn't do that. You had company- they're still here if you'd like to say hello. Hurry and get some food too, before they all eat it."

Samantha arched a brow. "All?" She stood up and stretched before drawing the curtain once again. What she saw was a scene she couldn't believe at first. Superboy and Impulse were eating pizza alongside a Hispanic boy she wasn't sure she had seen before. "Hey hey! Look who's finally awake!" Impulse shouted and ran- so fast he was a blur- right up to meet her. She was taken aback as he took her hand and shook it quickly. "It's nice to meet you, Samantha! I'm Impulse, but I'm sure you knew that already. Here! Have some pizza!" Impulse said, running back to get her a plate of food and returning so quickly, there wasn't a single gap in his sentence. Samantha took her plate. "Thank you, Impulse," she said through a smile. She felt like a celebrity- being here with all these heroes. She almost didn't like it. Samantha didn't want to be a special guest.

Superboy offered her a drink and his seat. "Oh, thank you, erm…Superboy," Samantha said after taking a bottle of water. "You can call me Connor. We're glad you're here, Samantha." The Hispanic boy took a seat next to her. "Good to see you again, Sam!" She cocked her head to the side. "I'm Jaime, although I'm sure you'd recognize me easier with the blue armor, amiga." He smiled and took a sip of water. "Blue Beetle. God, I can't thank you and Nightwing and Robin for getting me out of there enough. Actually, where is Robin?" Nightwing had finally decided to join the conversation. "He's with Batman tonight."

After dinner, the group lounged around and talked for what seemed like forever. Impulse wouldn't stop with his multitude of questions for Samantha.

"Favorite color?"

"Green."

"Animal?"

"Polar bear."

"Favorite superhero?"

"Hey, you can't do that to me. That isn't fair considering who I'm talking to."

"It's okay, you don't have to be afraid to say it's me."

"Okay Impulse, it's you."

"Yay! Okay, now can you do that giant fire-bird thing again-"

"_Impulse_." Nightwing said sternly. Samantha looked at the two of them while Connor and Jaime stood awkwardly to the side. "What do you mean, 'giant fire-bird thing'?"

Nightwing glared at Impulse. "It's getting late. Impulse, you should be getting home. You too Jaime." The two sullenly got up and casually left via the Zeta Tube Samantha had only heard of in her science class books. Connor stood up and headed towards another set of beds separated from her own.

Samantha stood up when it was only her and Nightwing left in the area. "Is there something you're not telling me, Nightwing?" She said sternly. "I didn't mean for you to find out this easily. I invited them over because I thought it would get your mind off of things. I didn't want you to find out this way," he said quietly. "Find out what, exactly?" Samantha was beginning to get pissed. She was tired of secrets already. Nightwing sighed and walked over to a computer, where he punched in some information and invited her to come over and watch.

What she saw made her gasp in horror: a giant phoenix shape made out of flames, and a single person floating in the middle of it. Her. The building had been destroyed. People were screaming aloud. She felt her vision begin to fade. How could she do that? Were her powers that destructive?

Nightwing noticed a tinge of orange in her eyes. "Samantha, I need you to calm down, or this is going to happen again. She slowly breathed, in and out, until her vision began to return.

"This…is why we're training you. This can't get into the hands of the Reach."

The teen stood up and took one look at Nightwing. "I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when training starts." With that, she returned to bed and slept a solid, dreamless sleep.

**((Hey everyone! First of all, I personally apologize for the lack of updates this past week. I had a personal matter I had to attend to, and I was away from my laptop the whole week. I hope you forgive me! :( More chapters to come in the next few days (hopefully!). I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Be sure to follow and review! It means so much to me! :)**

**-OpaqueSky))**


	6. Chapter 6: The Unlock

**Chapter Six: The Unlock**

The next few days were absolute hell for Samantha. She had always been athletic when it came to running, yet she knew absolutely nothing when it came to fighting and gymnastics. Nightwing had explained his background of a gymnast, and how he'd be integrating it into her training. Samantha groaned.

The first few days were composed of nothing but stretching and body exercises in the morning, and combat training in the afternoons. He praised her for her agility, but condemned her for her lack of attention. Her biggest lesson yet came when she first tried integrating a leap to dodge one of Nightwing's attacks and ended up falling flat on her face because she failed to notice his outstretched leg preventing her from having a sturdy bounce from the ground. After she had fallen, Nightwing would extend an arm out to her, lift her up, explain what she had done wrong, and repeat the technique. This lasted for hours- for as long as it took for her to pick it up.

Just as she had been when she was a kid, Samantha was a fast learner. He remembered always asking her for help on homework. But just as her learning had remained the same, her stubbornness remained also. Often times she would storm off after missing a technique, or fall down due to her lack of paying attention. There was also frustration coming from the fact that Nightwing was seemingly refusing to train her to use her _actual_ powers.

"When do we get to the good stuff?" Samantha said after about a week of training, as she creased the wrinkles in her new uniform. The entire thing was black, and cropped before the shoulders, leaving her arms bare. Black fingerless combat gloves had been added to improve her grip on surfaces she had been using as beams to jump from. A red stripe went down the left side of the uniform. She'd also been granted black boots to wear along with it. The entire uniform was comfortable, and breezy to avoid overheating- which she hadn't had to worry about since she had been rescued. Her auburn hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, which she wasn't very fond of.

Nightwing had been expecting to hear this question. "Once you've learned how to be dependent without them, we'll move to learning them. For now, work on your stance. You're a bit stiff," Nightwing said as he readjusted one of her arms. By that time, living with him and whoever else decided to stop in for the night; Samantha couldn't help but get the feeling that she'd known Nightwing for much longer. He was very mysterious and reclusive when they retired for the night, however. The mask stayed on at all times. Sam wondered what his eyes really looked like. His attitude and personality were very…reminiscent. She couldn't quite place who it was though.

Samantha had passed Nightwing's combat training with flying colors, in a little over three weeks. The moment of triumph happened when she finally pinned Nightwing down. At this, Samantha smiled through pants as she held him down. Nightwing smiled in return. Confident in her win, she released him from her pin and helped him to his feet. "You've become quite the fighter," He said as he took a stretch. "Yeah, I learned from the best, I suppose," Sam replied. Nightwing looked down. "Not the best…I learned from the best." The girl looked down at her feet, wondering if this was a reference to Batman. "What about my powers, Nightwing? I've gone through your training. I know how to fight, and I know how to be agile. Who's going to teach me how to use something I don't even know how to use?"

The answer came that night. It was a girl, a green Martian named M'gann. Samantha had seen her on TV several times, but her aura in person was much more different than she had seen before. The girl was quiet and concentrated. "M'gann, this is Samantha Bennett. Samantha, this is M'gann," Nightwing said as he introduced the two. Samantha reached out and shook the girl's hand, which wasn't much bigger than her own. "It's nice to meet you, Sam. I've heard many things about you." M'gann replied. "Good things, I hope." Samantha stuck her hands back in her pockets.

M'gann's training was much different than Nightwing's. He had fortunately left the warehouse to give them some space, and give him some time to take care of "unfinished business" as he called it. It involved sitting down on pillows, learning how to breathe, and how to focus on every subtle activity her mind and body made. For the first day, it was all meditation. M'gann rarely spoke to her, and Samantha respected the silence by not speaking to her either. By the fourth day, Samantha noticed a frustration in M'gann. "Is everything alright?" Samantha said, finally breaking the silence between the two during their meditation. The Martian opened her eyes. "I'm just…frustrated. Personal things, of course. And I'm also not sensing any type of physical attribute that would hint at a metagene. Meditation and concentration usually brings an inner skill straight to the surface."

Samantha frowned. "Maybe it went away on its own then." "Highly unlikely," M'gann was quick to reply.

"I have an idea though. However, I'll need to ask some personal questions. Is that alright?"

Samantha nodded in agreement.

"What I am thinking is that there is a mental block in your mind, preventing you from accessing your powers. What I plan on doing is removing this mental block, and granting access to your powers once more, if that is the case."

"Wait, what if I don't want my powers to be… 'unlocked'? What if I want to stay normal like this? No crazy powers?"

M'gann shook her head. "That would be very dangerous, Samantha. Keeping something…that powerful…locked away…it's not good for the mind. Rather than unlock it through your own will, it is possible that you will unlock it at a further point in life when you least expect it. After seeing the video Nightwing showed me, the results could be deadly for people you know. This is the best way."

Samantha nodded. "Okay, let's begin."

"Has there been any catastrophic events in your life? Traumatizing events? Loss?"

A horrible feeling welled up in Sam's gut. "All the above?"

M'gann gave her a look that said, 'keep going'.

"There was a house fire when I was thirteen… I lost both parents, but somehow managed to make it out. I don't know how. I went through years of therapy."

A look of excitement was evident on M'gann's face. "That was easier than I thought. Obviously, we have a mental mind block. I would recommend therapy, but seeing as you've already went through that…" she slowly trailed off.

"What is it? Is there no way?"

"No, there is a way. It's just…I'm very uncomfortable with it."

Samantha cocked her head to the side. "Explain?"

M'gann lifted a finger and placed it against Samantha's temple. "The mind is a delicate place, Samantha. I am a psychic, yet I've learned that lesson the hard way…" Her voice trailed off again.

"What are you proposing to do, M'gann?"

"I can mentally enter your mind and remove this mental block, but you'll need to come with me. It may be difficult, but perhaps we can manage. Do you give me permission to do so?"

Samantha nodded. "Yes."

"Very well. Let's begin."

The last thing Sam could remember was M'gann's eyes turning a bright green, and her mind feeling fuzzy. Her eyes closed as she allowed the Martian into her mind. When Samantha opened her eyes, she was back on that street sidewalk alongside M'gann, watching her childhood home burning. Unlike the actual memory, however, there was a massive cast iron fence surrounding the house, which possessed an oversized padlock. The door to the home was still visible, with yet another oversized padlock.

**((Once again, I am left speechless by the reviews, follows, and views I've been receiving for this story! You all blow me away with your dedication to reading my story. It makes my day going into FanFic and seeing that I have a few new followers, a spike in views, and some reviews to read. I love you guys so much. :3**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter (as always). :) Don't worry, I have some ideas in mind for sparking something off with Samantha and Nightwing...Perhaps in the next chapter or two. I may do a short time skip (maybe jump ahead a few weeks like I did in this chapter; nothing crazy like the season 1-2 jump. XD), we'll see.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-Opaque Sky))**


	7. Chapter 7: The Breakthrough

**Chapter 7: The Breakthrough**

"Oh Samantha…this is going to be difficult…" M'gann said as she approached the iron gate. "There's two mental blocks...not one"

"Are we…are we in my mind?" Sam said quickly. The scene was straight out of her memory, yet it seemed almost impossible. "Yes. It's up to you to break down those locks. I'm not sure where this one came from, however…" M'gann said as her fingers gingerly caressed the massive lock on the iron gate.

"Was there anything else at all that could have caused some type of mental block?" M'gann asked frustratingly. "I…I don't know. What could it be?" The Martian took a seat on the sidewalk; the glare of the burning house was reflecting on her eyes. "At any point…recently…have you felt scared or upset? Extreme emotions. A block like this is something that's happened recently, and it's affected you deeply. I can tell."

Sam shuffled her feet. "Seeing myself as that phoenix. It…it scared me. I didn't believe it- well, I didn't _want _to believe it, M'gann. I couldn't imagine myself being that destructive."

M'gann remained silent for a few minutes. "This task is of your own. I will try to help you, but it may not be possible. What I am seeing is that you are afraid of your powers, Samantha. On the outside you wish to use them, but deep on the inside…you have a fear of fire. Because of this," M'gann said as she gestured towards the ablaze house, "You are scarred."

A tear rolled down Samantha's cheek. Could she be right? Maybe she wasn't cut out for this hero thing. All that training with Nightwing for nothing… all that effort everyone had made to make her feel at home. It had felt like the closest she had been to home since her parents had died. Now what? Would they see that the metagene was a flop and not care about her anymore? She pressed her palms into her face as she began to cry. M'gann stood off to the side, at loss for words. She had never seen a mental block of this degree before.

"Nightwing wouldn't go through all that trouble training me…just to give up on me," Samantha tried to reassure herself.

Just as all hope was lost, there was a warming sensation in her palm. She extended her arm and opened her palm to see the source of the sensation- a single, flickering flame in her hand. "Oh my God…" Samantha stammered. M'gann looked up and quickly climbed to her feet. "You're getting somewhere. Keep going!"

Her heart was racing as she quickly clambered to her feet. The fire was bright and bold, yet she felt no burning. It was warm and tingley- like the feeling of numbness being dissipated. "I will get through this. I'll learn control. I won't hurt anyone!" Samantha was shouting now, and as she did, the fire in her palm grew in size and intensity. M'gann began to step back. Samantha stepped in front of the first padlock and pressed her hand to it, allowing it to melt straight through the iron like a hot knife through butter. She smiled as it disintegrated, allowing her to push the gate open. M'gann was beaming, but said nothing to interrupt her. The task ahead of her was going to be the hard part.

Samantha stepped through the gate and onto the lawn she was so familiar with. The grass still brushed up against her ankles because dad didn't want to mow it every week like everyone else in the neighborhood. An oak tree that she had spent ages climbing still stood tall in the yard. Her hands brushed by the tree's rough bark. The flames grew in anticipation as she approached the house. The fire was bright and blinding, yet Samantha felt no heat. She was on the porch now, standing directly in front of the door. Her hands extended out in front of her, and she willed the fire out. With every ounce of concentration she possessed, she focused on extinguishing the flame. What happened next made M'gann fear for her mental state.

The fire rushed out of the house through every window, door, and crack. It swirled around Samantha in a tornado made of flames, with her in the eye.

Nightwing had returned to the warehouse from his covert mission and had slung himself onto the couch in exhaustion. He noticed Samantha and M'gann sitting quietly on the floor across the room- facing away from him. He smiled. "Still working on breathing techniques?" He joked as he walked over and put a hand on M'gann's shoulder. When she didn't respond, he spun her around to see the familiar, haunting green hue of her entire eye. "No…" Quickly he looked over to Samantha, to see her eyes in the same state. "Oh no…"

He took a seat on the floor next to them. He knew that any disturbance would break the link and possibly endanger Samantha, as well as M'gann's mental state. "_All I can do is wait…_" Nightwing thought to himself, until M'gann's eyes turned normal as she gasped for breath. "M'gann!"

"What happened?! Why-" he looked over to see his worst fear confirmed- Samantha's eyes still locked in a mental state. "Where is she?!"

"I'm sorry Dick! I had to get out! She's recovering, but she didn't understand that I'm not invincible when in someone else's mind! There was so much fire…I had to get out. It may have been for the best. She can get out of this herself. I know she can. Please…just trust me."

Nightwing looked down, not sure of what to think, before returning to look at Sam.

Samantha had never felt this much power in her entire life. The very energy inside of her was bursting- every nerve seemed to be firing- there were goosebumps on her neck- the experience was unreal. The flames obeyed her every command. She wanted these particular flames gone- forever. As quickly as she had conjured them from the house, she redirected them into the sky. They lit up one final time in the shape of a phoenix, before falling to the ground as ashes. She was beaming. There was a confidence and a sense of accomplishment that she had never felt before that was bursting inside of her.

Then, the voice came.

"Samantha?"

The teen fell to her knees where she stood. That voice…it was unmistakable who's it was. "D…dad?"

The man and woman emerged from the home a little ashy, but okay nonetheless. "Mom! Dad!" Samantha shouted. Her knees were still weak, but she managed to stand up and sprint to them. The three of them collapsed together in the yard where the ashes were still raining from the sky. Sam cried into her mother's shoulder while her father ran his fingers through her soft auburn hair. "I missed you so much…So much…" Samantha said through tears. "I'm so proud of the woman you have become, Samantha," Her father whispered. Her mother told her she was beautiful.

It seemed like the three crouched there for hours, hugging each other. It was a peaceful chaos. Finally, her mother spoke up. "It wasn't your fault, Samantha. The fire. It wasn't you. You should have no reason to fear your beautiful gift you have been given." Her father chimed in. "You have made some very valuable friends, and you need to trust them to guide you in the right path, should you get lost." Samantha began to cry. "Please don't go…"

"We're always in your heart, Samantha. It's time for you to move forward. Your friends are becoming worried." Samantha nodded and gave them one last hug.

The brightness of the warehouse made her wince when her eyes finally opened back to reality.

**((Hey everyone! I apologize for the delay- I'm currently in the midst of midterm essays and such, as well as attempting to get my hands on the new laptop that will replace my old one which will not connect to the internet. Hopefully in the next few days I'll be back on my pattern with story updates every day except Fridays and Sundays. :) Love you all! Thanks for the awesome feedback, reviews, follows, and favorites, as always. :) Thanks a bunch!**

**-Opaque Sky))**


	8. Chapter 8: The Solution

**Chapter 8: The Solution**

"What happened?! Are you alright?"

Nightwing was right in front of her once her eyes opened. Samantha squinted them as they adjusted to the light. "I'm fine- a little shook up- but I'm fine."

M'gann smiled at her response, and looked to Nightwing, who gave her an almost disappointed look. "Well, show him what we've accomplished."

Samantha nodded, but wasn't quite sure where to begin. Deep down in her heart, she wished that a flame would appear in her hand and that Nightwing would approve and move her forward with training. Her two friends appeared on edge about the whole thing. M'gann shot her another look of encouragement.

The palms of her hands were outstretched in front of her. With all she had, she focused on the space in her palms…she willed everything she had into creating a flame. Nothing happened at first.

_"You should have no reason to fear your beautiful gift you have been given."_

Her eyes closed and the tingley sensation returned. She heard Nightwing gasp, and M'gann laugh. "You did it Sam. You cleared the mental blocks." When she opened her eyes, a single ruby red flame danced in front of them in her palms. A smile appeared on her lips. "It's settled then. Tomorrow we'll continue with training you to use these powers. Until then, we'd better get some rest," Nightwing said as he stood up and offered a hand to Samantha to help her up as well.

M'gann scratched the back of her head and began making her way over to the Zeta Tube, mumbling something about returning to her apartment. There was a feeling in the pit of her stomach that made Samantha say what she did. "M'gann, wait." The red-headed Martian turned around. "Yes?"

"This," she said, gesturing to the flame that was still alive in her hand, "is because of you. I wouldn't have been able to do what I did without your help. Thank you." Samantha closed her palm and extinguished the flame. M'gann smiled sheepishly. "You did most of the work, that, I promise you. Get some sleep, kid." She entered the Zeta Tube and disappeared in a flash of light. It was just Nightwing and her now, as usual.

Samantha gave a heavy sigh and collapsed into the nearest sofa. "God that was exhausting. I didn't know mental work could wear you out so much." Nightwing gave a half smile as he sat down in the sofa opposite to her. "You'd be surprised." After a few minutes of silence, Nightwing finally spoke up. "I wasn't sure of M'gann going into your mind like that. I thought…I thought you were gone."

Samantha sat up and arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean? She seemed a little nervous when she asked if she could go into my mind… but I didn't think anything of it," She said. Nightwing sat up and rested his arms on his legs. "Let's just say that M'gann doesn't have the best track record when it comes to mental intrusion." With that, he stood up and stretched. As usual, he made his way over to where another curtain was and changed into his sleeping clothes. The mask still stayed on, even when he slept. Was he that worried about his identity? Samantha did the same and changed into a very standard pajama set that had been delivered to the warehouse. She'd been allowed a certain amount of money to spend on things that were considered "a necessity", and was allowed Internet access to order them. After changing, she slipped under the covers of her bed. As if Nightwing had been watching her, the lights of the warehouse flickered out as they did every night.

However, despite her feelings of exhaustion, Samantha couldn't help but feel…strange. What Nightwing had said about M'gann was bugging her. Had she killed someone? Had her mind-invasion gone horribly wrong once? Her mind flitted from one thing to the next. There was still the obvious fact that Nightwing was strangely familiar to her. It was like she had met him before. His very persistence and stubbornness reminded her of someone she had met in middle school, although she couldn't quite remember the name after the excitement of the past few weeks…It was something with a "G", she remembered…

Across the warehouse, Nightwing was having trouble sleeping as well. He tossed and turned, worrying and wondering about what was going to happen next. He knew nothing about training actual special abilities, as he had none himself. There were techniques and stances, but that was about all he could offer. He sighed deeply and turned over in his bed. "_I wonder if she even remembers me._" The particular thought had come to his mind several times before, and he wasn't sure what to do about it. Batman was sure to remind him that his identity was never to be revealed- even to someone he'd known. Samantha was no exception, he was told. Another sign escaped his lips. It was going to be a rough week.

Fortunately for Nightwing, the week passed by with ease. Samantha picked up every technique with ease, and mastered every stance. The flames were incorporated with every punch and kick to add an extra boost to her fighting skills. He was very proud of what she had become. Samantha's fighting skills almost mimicked his own. Thankfully, she was on their side. On the final day of training, he wanted to try something different.

"Alright, we know you're good a fighting, but how good are you at conjuring?" Nightwing asked her in the middle of a session. She cocked her head to the side. "Conjuring? Isn't that magic or something?" Nightwing shook his head. "Not necessarily. The term can be applied to your powers. It's creating something out of something else." Her eyebrow arched. "So you want to see if I can create objects out of fire?" He nodded.

She extended a hand nervously and created a flame that crawled up her arm. By now, she had things well under control with the little stuff. She thought of the first weapon that came to mind- a whip. Ever since she had seen Indiana Jones as a kid, it had always been her favorite weapon to see on television and in the movies. Now, she might be able to try one out- sort of. Her other hand moved over to help redirect the fire into a shape. To her surprise, it molded to how she wanted it. It became elongated into a tight rope like object a few feet long. Loosely, it was in the shape of a whip. By then, she had broken a sweat. It was taking all of her concentration to keep the form in place, and she felt that it could slip out of her reach at any moment.

Then, the feeling set in; the feeling one would get leaning back in a chair too far and finally realizing they were going to fall. It was the feeling of losing control. The form broke immediately and her hands dropped to her sides. Her vision began to fade as the orange tint began to take over the brilliant emerald green in her eyes. "Nightwing…" she whispered as the last bits of consciousness began to fade away. Nightwing, who had been paying close attention to what she had been doing, was quick to respond. He ran over to her and grasped her hands. "Samantha, can you hear me?" However, as he grabbed her hands, his own hands were singed in the process. She was literally burning. The fire began to crawl up her hands as Nightwing rushed for a solution. He found it easily.

Sitting across the room was the ice cooler that held drinks for the team when they were at the warehouse. By now it had been cleared out of drinks, and just held cold water and ice. He quickly ran over and grabbed the cooler, dumping its contents all over Samantha.

The steam filled the entire warehouse. He couldn't see a thing except for the shadowy silhouette of Samantha collapsed on the ground. He knelt down and felt for a pulse, she was still there, and was free of the fever. An eye examination revealed her eyes had returned to the normal color, and that she was undoubtedly unconscious. Nightwing had taken her into his arms and dried her off the best he could, and laid her in her bed. While she rested, he had a very important decision to make. Obviously, someone wasn't going to be standing by with a bucket of cold water to cool her down in case she were ever to lose control like that again. She needed some way to stay cool all the time…

The idea hit him, and he quickly grabbed blueprints and paper to begin designing what he had in mind. It was perfect- a way to keep her cool and under control at all times. Once his rough idea and sketch had been put on paper, he scanned them and sent them to Star Labs. He had a scientist pulled up on his computer screen by now, and was discussing the blueprints.

"Can you make this work?"

The scientist was deep in thought. "Yes. I believe I can. You can expect it to be ready within a few days for testing."

**((Wooo! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'd like to make a quick shout out to everyone who is following this story, and also to those of you who have taken the time to write a review. I read all of them as soon as I can, and it really motivates me! You all are awesome. Also, I am officially done with my midterms! Yay! Now we just get to sit back and hope I made good grades. :P**

**-OpaqueSky))**


	9. Chapter 9: The Final Test

**Chapter 9: The Final Test**

Samantha woke up surprisingly early that morning. She got into uniform, did her usual pre-training stretches, punched the punching bag for a bit, and waited for Nightwing to wake up and begin training for the day. After an hour of waiting and training herself, her curiosity got the best of her and she traversed up to where Nightwing's bed was. To her surprise, he wasn't in bed; rather, it was neatly made. She scratched the back of her head. Where could he be?

She took a seat on his bed and looked over to where a drawer in his bedside table was slightly ajar. Taking another look around her, she peered in. "_No! What are you doing, Sam?! Respect his privacy!"_ Sam thought to herself as she jerked her head back from looking in. However, she had caught a glimpse of something that intrigued her. A book that looked strangely familiar. "Oh, what the hell," Sam said and pulled the drawer open to see exactly what she thought she had seen: a yearbook. Smiling, she took the book in her hands and ran a hand over its soft black leather surface. In gold lettering were the words "Gotham Academy", and the year that she would have been in ninth grade. "Why would Nightwing have this…?" she thought to herself as she flipped through the pages. Quickly, she found her own picture and smiled. It brought back so many memories. Then, a thought popped into her mind. Who was that boy she had been friends with in middle school? Something with a G… She flipped through to the last names. "Gains, Gene, no, that's not it…"

Her eyes set on the name "Grayson" and her heart took a leap just as she heard the noise she'd been dreading: The Computer. "Recognized, Nightwing: B01." Samantha was so scared she almost dropped the book. She quickly placed it back into the drawer and stood up just as Nightwing was within sight. "What are you up to?" he asked casually. "Well, looking for you actually," Sam said as she rubbed the back of her head nervously. "I wasn't sure if you'd overslept or not." Nightwing laughed. "You're the one that always oversleeps. Anyway, I've been at Star Labs. I'd like you to come see something I think you'd like." Samantha laughed. "You mean leave the warehouse? This must be a pretty good something you have to show me." Nightwing didn't reply, but he did smile.

The pair made their way over to the Zeta Tube, which made Samantha nervous. "We're going by Zeta Tube?" "Of course we are. Star Labs is a ways away from here." He noticed the tone in her voice. "It's alright. It's not going to kill you. I already have you in the system as an authorized guest, which means you can use the tubes with limited access. You'll be fine, I promise." He punched in some random numbers, which brought up a picture of Star Labs on the nearby computer screen. "Let's go." Samantha followed closely next to him into the strange tube. "Recognized, Nightwing: B01. Samantha Bennett: A13." Just as the flash of light followed, Samantha grasped Nightwing's hand.

When the blinding light faded less than a second later, Samantha found herself looking at a strange laboratory. She quickly let go of his hand, which prompted a glance from Nightwing, and a sheepish look from Samantha. "Welcome to Star Labs," a scientist said as the tension broke. "You must be Samantha. It's a pleasure to meet you." The scientist shook her hand before turning to Nightwing. "The device has passed trials and is ready for a final test. We'll take her in for an installation, and then the training room is all yours." Nightwing thanked him and looked to Samantha. "What was that all about? Installation? What am I, a computer?" He looked over to where the scientist was gesturing. "No. Just someone who needs a little help with control." They began walking across the lab. "The other night, I ended up dumping ice cold water on you to keep you from, well, blowing up. I won't always be there to help you in the case you lose control. I had an idea, and the scientists here have made it a reality."

The scientist pulled out from a box what looked like strange, futuristic cuffs…with needles. Samantha's spine tingled. "These are what we've dubbed, Cooling Cuffs," the scientist explained. "What happens is these will slide onto your wrists, and the needles will go into your blood vessels. Inside these cuffs are an intense monitoring system. It will keep your adrenaline, and most importantly temperature, in check with real-time updates as it enters one side of the cuff, and exits on the other side. In the case that your temperature reaches the point of 'meltdown', or loss of control, your adrenaline will spike, your pulse will increase, and a coolant will be released inside the cuffs which will stop a meltdown from occurring. Does this make sense, Samantha?" The girl shook her head. This was crazy, but it just might work.

"So, they're cuffs I wear, that cool my blood and my body if I have a freak out. I think I understand," she replied. The size of the things is what made her wonder. The cuffs couldn't be much bigger than the standard oversized bracelet. "We also have adaptors that will disguise them for everyday wear, in the case that you're off duty," the scientist continued as he pulled out several different colored covers that fit perfectly over the cuffs.

"Well, what do you think?" Nightwing said. Samantha gave the cuffs a long look. "Alright. Put them on me." With that, the scientist nodded and removed some cleansing materials from a drawer and began cleaning her wrists. She turned around when he placed them on and made sure the needles were indeed receiving and analyzing her blood. "Good, the Cooling Cuffs are fully operational," he said as he gestured to a little screen on the right cuff. Her heart rate and temperature were immediately displayed on an illuminated screen. She stretched her hands and arms only to find that they were very lightweight, and didn't weigh her wrists down. She even created a flame in her hand to see her temperature slightly rise, but not by much. It still baffled her that her own body was capable of this type of heat.

"Alright, now it's time for your final test, Sam."

Nightwing's sudden notion surprised Sam. "Final test?"

"That's right. The training room is already set up for it. It's time to see what you can really do."

She swallowed dryly as he led her to a massive training room that was seemingly empty. The entire room was tiled, which made her think of several movies where things would emerge from hidden spaces in the walls. Little did she know that this was exactly what was going to happen. "Good luck," Nightwing said to her with a smile as she stepped into the training chamber. The door shut firmly behind her. She felt a strange reminiscence of when the Reach had locked her into that room, with no chance of escape.

_"This is it. Time to prove myself."_ She breathed in and out slowly as she stepped further into the chamber, just waiting for something to happen. Nothing did at first. She trekked further into the chamber. Her eyes glanced up at an observation deck where she saw Nightwing watching from above. Many scientists were there watching with clipboards. What was this?

The sound came from her right. A flying disc with ropes flew at her, wrapping around her legs and knocking her over. "Damn, not a very good first impression," Samantha mumbled as she burned through the ropes with her hands with ease. By that time, turrets had emerged from the walls and had begun firing. Samantha quickly got up and dodged them by hiding behind pillars that had emerged from the ground. Once the firing stopped, more pillars arose around her. It became obvious quickly that their goal was to entrap her. She skillfully jumped onto a rising pillar, fire trailing behind her jump, and leaped off of it to avoid the trap. More turrets fired at her, and she used a wall of fire to defend herself. There were a few rope traps too that she quickly burned through- it was all a blur. It was a mixture of jumping, dodging, and a few blasting of discs as they approached her at high velocities.

The Cooling Cuffs began to turn an orangish color. She quickly glanced down to see her temperature spike. A symbol that represented a snowflake appeared, and there was a sudden feeling of coolness throughout her body. Her temperature returned to regular levels. Smiling, she looked up to see her next task emerge from the wall ahead of her.

The robot was enormous. It towered over her by at least six feet, and had arms that swung with the strength of a falling boulder. "Holy shit," Samantha muttered to herself. A quick glance to the observation deck revealed that more scientists had gathered to watch, and Nightwing was still staring intently from the front of the group. But there was no more time to watch, as she was smacked by the robots massive arm. Samantha was thrown across the room like a rag doll. She grunted in pain, and heard a gasp from the observation deck. "No way is that keeping me down. Take this!" She shouted and leapt up from her fall. She landed on top of the robot, which began swinging furiously to knock her off. Her grip was as iron as the robot's metal, and she held on with all of her will. She concentrated all of her energy into her right palm, and let it light up with flames, which she then proceeded to press into the robot's back. It melted straight through like butter, and Samantha could feel the wiring and metals that created it. After a few seconds, the robot stood still. Samantha withdrew her hand and made a backwards leap off the back of the robot, landing firmly with one hand on the ground. Her guard was not dropped. Nightwing was sure to drill that idea into her mind.

Finally, the robot fell to the ground. Samantha still stood there in battle stance, panting. The turrets and pillars in the room began to reset back to the way it was before. Finally, she stood up and dusted herself off from the ash that had accumulated on her uniform. The observation deck had been cleared. The door which she came from opened, revealing just Nightwing. He was smiling- it was something Samantha had liked to see. She smiled back and ran over to him.

"Well, did I pass?!" she asked excitedly. Nightwing laughed at her energy. "Of course. With flying colors. No surprise there." Samantha squealed in happiness as she did a cartwheel out of the training room. "This is crazy. Well, no what? No more training? Do I finally get to sleep in now?" Again, there was that smile of his.

"Now, you get to pick a name," he said casually on their way back to the Zeta Tube. "A name? Like, a superhero name?" Nightwing nodded. "You can't go on missions being called Samantha. It's too obvious. Also, your appearance is something we need to work with, but I know someone who can help with that. Do you have any ideas for an alias? Don't tell me it hasn't crossed your mind yet." Samantha shook her head. "I honestly haven't. I never thought I would make it this far."

Nightwing stopped in his steps. "I wish you could have seen yourself out there," he said as he gestured towards the training room. "You were amazing." Samantha blushed as he put a hand on her shoulder. "I promise you, I figured you'd make it this far since the first day we started training. You always were a fast learner." Sam smiled at him. "But I still don't have an idea for an alias."

He had a look on his face that told he was in deep thought. "I got it," he finally said. "Well, what is it?" Samantha said as he began walking towards the Zeta Tube again. "You'll see." Once they made it to the Tube, he began punching something in the computer. Finally, a picture of the warehouse appeared. "Let's go."

The pair stepped into the Tube.

"Recognized: Nightwing, B01. Cardinal, B24."

**((Woooo long chapter! :D I hope you enjoyed it. Be sure to leave a favorite and a follow if you haven't already, and leave a review for me to read. :) I do love reading them! Thanks to everyone who's kept up with the story. Ya'll are awesome!** **Also, some actual romance in the next chapter. I PROMISE :). ))**

**Opaque Sky**


	10. Chapter 10: A Change

**Chapter 10: A Change**

The light faded as the warehouse's main room came into view. It was strangely dark. That didn't matter to Samantha, however. She was still beaming. The computer repeated their names. _"Cardinal. B24."_ Cardinal. The name sounded so…awesome. Of course, it was reminiscent to back when Nightwing was once Robin. That fact was a little hard to ignore. The B24 had changed from the A13- signaling a change in authorization from guest, to team member. "I love the name," she began as they stepped out of the Zeta Tube. Samantha began to speak again when the lights flashed on. Everyone jumped from every corner of the room, shouting, "Surprise!"

A banner floated from the ceiling bearing the word, "Congratulations!" Samantha's cheeks blushed. Everyone was there- M'gann, Connor, Impulse, Lagoon Boy, Robin, Blue Beetle, Wonder Girl, and Batgirl. M'gann was the first to approach her. "I knew you'd make it, Sam!" she said and gave her a hug which she returned warmly. "Thank you." Nightwing smiled from behind her and gave a nudge to join in on the festivities. A huge stack of pizzas sat in the middle of the table alongside the ice cooler filled to the brim with water and even sodas- which were rare when Nightwing was in charge of things. Everyone was beginning to dig into the food and talk about how awesomely she had done on her final test. "How did you guys see?" Samantha asked curiously as she placed a few slices of pizza on her plate. "Satellite feed! We all watched it from the warehouse! It was crash!" Impulse piped up. She blushed again and grabbed a Dr. Pepper to go along with her food. She cracked the soda open and let the fizzy pop cool down her throat. It had been so long since she had drunk a soda. The remembrance of drinking Reach soda had left a sour thought in her mind.

The night flew by with tons of junk food, showing off a few fire tricks (as well as her new cooling cuffs), and playing the PlayStation 3 Blue Beetle had brought over to the warehouse. She wasn't very good at playing the war-like games the boys enjoyed (Connor and Jaime were excellent at them, and showed no mercy when playing against her in multiplayer), and switched the game later on to something more her type- puzzles. Nightwing joined in with her and Batgirl to play multiple games that made Connor and Jaime smack their foreheads. The entire gang had a blast. Samantha had never seen Nightwing so relaxed before- nor laugh as much. Her sides had hurt by the end of the night.

"Alright, I'd better be getting home," Jaime piped up. Others followed suit. M'gann revealed that her and La'gaan were heading to Chicago to stay in her uncle's apartment. Nightwing wished everyone a safe night and one by one they disappeared through the Zeta Tube. As usual, it was just Nightwing and Samantha now. The teenage girl was curled up on the couch, exhausted, as Nightwing took a seat next to her. "Have fun?" She smiled. "More fun than I've had in weeks."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nightwing said with an arched brow. "Training with me isn't fun?" She shook her head. "It's not that- I just needed a good gaming session." He laughed softly and turned to her. "So you really like the name?" "Of course I do."

The two remained silent for a few minutes. Samantha decided now was a better time than never to ask a question that she had been wondering about since the first day of training.

"I know…that Batman makes you keep your identity a secret," Samantha began. Nightwing quickly focused his attention on her. "But I can't help getting the feeling that I've known you longer than the two months I've been here. You remind me of someone very special." She swallowed hard, waiting for a response from him. "Do you remember his name?" She shook her head. "Grayson. That's all I remember."

Nightwing's heart sped up. She did remember.

"We went to school together for years. He was my best friend. He had to move away for some reason though, and I can't remember his damn name. I feel so stupid." Samantha looked down and put her hands on her face. An idea popped into her mind- something that she hadn't thought of. "Where did you go to school, Nightwing? Was it Gotham Academy?" A mental image of the GA yearbook appeared.

He panicked. Why was he feeling so nervous? It was just Samantha…someone he'd known for years- she girl he had trained to the point that she would rival him- the little shy girl that had grown into something fierce- the first girl he had fallen for… He shook the thought off.

"That's classified," Nightwing said quickly. "More like, that means 'yes'," Samantha replied with a smile. Nightwing couldn't help but smile in return. "No, that doesn't mean 'yes'." "On come on, Nightwing. Your face just now gave it all away. You have to be around my age then- 18? 19?"

"19," Nightwing replied. "Okay, no more questions. We really should get some rest-"

Samantha arched an eyebrow. She was dying to ask more questions- she felt like she was onto something here. Could it be possible that he had known her in school? Was that the incentive he needed to save her from the Reach? He was definitely hiding something… This was obvious when he stood to head back to his bed. As Nightwing walked off, Samantha stopped him.

"Can I just ask you one more thing…Please?"

Nightwing paused with his back turned towards her. He answered. "What?"

Samantha took a step forward. "Did you know me? Before all of this went down, I mean."

He paused. A million things ran through his head on what to say next.

"Ye-"

A loud voice interrupted him mid-word. The voice was coming from both of their earpieces, and it sounded like a distressed Lagoon Boy.

"Lagoon Boy to team- we're under attack at the Chicago Zeta-Tube- requesting backup!"

Nightwing nodded. "Acknowledged! We're right by a Zeta-Tube and on our way." Nightwing turned to Samantha. "Think you can handle this with me? I have no idea who's attacking, but I think you can handle it." Samantha's stomach turned nervously. A real mission? Now? With no notice? "Let's go!" she shouted.

The pair ran to the Zeta-Tube and Nightwing punched in Chicago's Zeta Tube address. The pair stepped in and were instantly transported to their teammate's location.

They exited the tube running- only to see an injured Lagoon Boy lying amongst crates, a ring of flames, and a strange black ship flying away. Nightwing swore. "They were too fast."

**((Woooo hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D More to come tomorrow. **

**-Opaque Sky))**


	11. Chapter 11: A Charm

**Chapter 11: A Charm**

Samantha sat at the warehouse with absolutely nothing to do. Lagoon Boy had been transported to a hospital to be treated for his leg. Nightwing had gone along to see him and get a story- he had even taken Connor with him. She wasn't allowed to go, however. Too many people would recognize her. That's right. She was supposed to be "missing" still. She sighed. Usually Connor or M'gann kept her company if Nightwing wasn't around, but for once, everyone was gone. She sighed heavily and hoped that M'gann was alright. According to Lagoon Boy as they had taken him from the scene, she had been kidnapped by the villains named Deathstroke and Tigress. They didn't stand a chance.

The girl was beginning to feel caged. She couldn't go out in fear of discovery, and everyone was on some type of mission at the moment. When she headed for her bed to sleep and kill some time until Nightwing got back, the Zeta-Tube activated. "Recognized, Zatanna: A03." Samantha looked over to see a tall girl with flowing black hair and beautiful blue eyes exit the tube. "Zatanna!" Samantha said and greeted her as if she had met her before. Secretly, Zatanna was her favorite Justice League member- but she would never tell Impulse that.

The sorceress smiled at her. "Hello Samantha. It's very nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much," Zatanna said softly and shook her hand. "I must say- your final test was very impressive." Samantha's stomach lurched. "The Justice League watched it too?" "Yes. We're very interested in your development." Samantha beamed. "Thank you. What brings you here today, Zatanna?"

"I thought you'd never ask," she said and gestured towards the couch. "Have a seat." Zatanna sat down and Samantha followed suit. "So, Nightwing tells me you've been feeling a little- caged in. I hope you understand this is for your own protection. If the Reach is searching for you, we must not expose your identity." Sam looked down. "I understand your intentions are to keep me safe," she said sullenly and looked down. What Zatanna said next made her snap her head up in interest. "However, I have a solution."

Zatanna reached into her pocked and pulled out a necklace. It was made of a black ribbon that had a connector at the ends. The centerpiece, however, was a brilliant red stone that dangled below as a pendant. "Zatanna! It's beautiful…but what is it?"

"This is a glamour charm, Samantha. When you wear this charm, your identity will be masked to all except certain people. I've already charmed it to exclude yourself, only when you're in a mirror, and the rest of the team from seeing the illusion." Samantha touched the red jewel gingerly. "Will this mean I'll be able to go out now?" Zatanna smiled. "Yes. Nightwing even said something about an undercover mission he wanted to take you out on. With this, you'll finally be able to." Zatanna reached up and tied the necklace around Samantha's neck. "It looks very beautiful on you." Sam smiled in return, yet gasped when she looked down at the flowing locks of hair it appeared that she had. The charm had turned her hair from her natural slight red brown into a brilliant orange red. "Woah! This is unreal," Samantha said as she felt one of the locks. It looked real, felt real- but when she glanced into a nearby mirror, it appeared that nothing had changed.

"You'll be safe now, Samantha," Zatanna said before stopping herself. "What am I doing, calling you Samantha. Last I heard, your name was Cardinal?" Zatanna smiled when she saw the look of pure joy on Sam's face. "I'm not used to it yet, the name I mean. But thank you for the charm. I've been dying to go out-"

"Recognized, Nightwing: B01."

There was a flash of light at the side of the room and Nightwing entered. "Looks like you two are getting along well," he said after seeing the look on Cardinal and Zatanna's face. Cardinal's fingers smoothed over the stone as it hung coolly against her chest.

Nightwing began to speak. "I've just had word with Blue Beetle. He's on a mission to recover a group of teens who are in a very similar situation as you, Cardinal; abducted teens who have developed abnormal abilities." Cardinal sighed. "So you want me to go along with him?" Nightwing shook his head. "No, I have another mission in mind. Just you and me." At this, Zatanna took her leave. Before she entered the Zeta-Tube, she turned, gave Nightwing a wink, and said, "You two don't get into too much trouble." Samantha blushed a deep red.

Once she was gone, Nightwing pulled up a large holographic screen, showing the face of Lex Luthor. "In case you don't recognize him, this is Lex Luthor- CEO of Luthor Corp. He also doesn't have the best track record when it comes to being good." At this, the holo-screen changed to show a giant mansion. "He's holding a gala tomorrow night at one of his many homes. Among the people on the guest list are Ra's Al Ghoul and Queen Bee. Something is definitely going on there- and we're going to find out. With your glamour charm, The Light, who are currently in search of you as well, won't even notice you."

Cardinal shook her head. "You expect us to just wander in and see what he's talking about?" Nightwing raised a hand. "Hey, I was getting to that. Be patient," he said through a smile. "I've managed to get ahold of the guest list, and I've even been intercepting letters from guests who cannot attend. Luckily, I got a match. A girl around your age named Rose Wilson is unable to attend, and I had Zatanna model her appearance into your glamour charm. Fortunately, she isn't well known and you wearing her appearance elsewhere won't cause any trouble." Cardinal nodded. "And what about you?" The look on Nightwing's face said it all. "Well, I haven't exactly gotten to that yet. She wasn't planning on coming with a partner. Maybe you can convince them to let me in too. If not, I could always sneak in."

"Excuse me? Why not just sneak in and avoid the conflict?" Cardinal asked quickly. "Charisma is another skill you need when doing undercover missions. We'll see how it goes; besides, we need an up close look at Luthor, and there isn't any air ducts in the room we could hide out in. I'm sure Luthor did that for a reason." Nightwing replied. "Fine. Just to let you know, I almost failed my college speech course…"

The pair decided to order Chinese delivery for dinner. After they had settled down and began to eat, Cardinal began asking about how La'gann's visit went. "What exactly, happened?" she asked quietly. Nightwing put his chopsticks down. "M'gann was abducted by a villain lord named Black Manta- and I think I know why. His son, Kaldur, used to be on our side. He used to lead our team…but he turned on us. On our last encounter with him, M'gann…she released a lot of anger at him. His mind was broken- shattered- beyond the point of normal therapeutic repair. It is to my understanding that Manta wants her to repair him." He took another bite.

"And we're just sitting her eating Chinese food and planning on going to a party? This doesn't sound right, Nightwing. Shouldn't we be planning a team to rescue her? What if they kill her?" A tinge of venom was in her voice; enough to make Nightwing look up. "Things are more complicated than you can see right now, Sam. You'll find out in time. She'll be alright." He looked down again as he began to think. "_With Artemis there…I hope she'll be alright…"_ It had been internally bugging him that Deathstroke was alongside Artemis with her kidnapping. Manta was not making things easy.

"What if she doesn't, Nightwing? What if something goes wrong?" There was a feeling in her stomach that made her not want to eat anymore. It felt like he was hiding something. He let out a heavy sigh. "What I'm about to tell you could get me in a lot of trouble, but I trust you to keep it to yourself. We have a double agent in the field, and M'gann will be fine. That's all you need to know." With that, Nightwing stood up. "Zatanna said she left something for you on your bed- you'd better check it out before tomorrow. Make sure it fits." He left the area as Samantha wondered… "_Fits?"_

Curious, the teen stood up and made her way over to her bed where she found a long enclosed clothes sleeve- where one would store a dress. Her heart raced as she unzipped the sleeve to reveal a beautiful ruby red dress that appeared to go to her knees- and was strapless. It was a very sexy dress, and Samantha shivered at the fact that she wasn't used to wearing flirty dresses like this. Pinned to the dress was a handwritten note.

"_Knock those boys down. You have the charm to do it. –Z"_


	12. Chapter 12: An Unexpected Encounter

**Chapter 12: An Unexpected Encounter**

"I'm telling you, this isn't going to go well-"

"Oh get over it, you look fine."

Samantha groaned and tugged at the bottom of her dress as if it were somehow magically going to get longer. It belonging to Zatanna, it just might. The two were being driven to one of Lex Luthor's many mansions- in particular, the one outside of Gotham City where you could actually see the stars. Samantha sat in the back of a car, scooted as far away from Nightwing as she could. This was going to be a disaster. She was a blunder when it came to having charm, and this entire mission seemed pointless to her rather than making her embarrassed.

"Do you really think they won't get suspicious of a guy wearing sunglasses to a gala? You can't hide your face forever, _sweetie_," Cardinal said bitterly. It was all part of this acting nonsense. She had never been one for drama class in school, yet here she was playing a part. They should be focusing on more pressing matters- like M'Gann's capture. Nightwing smiled. "That's because only you can see me for how I am. Everyone else sees a completely different image- eyes and all." He brandished a glamour charm that was hidden under the collar of his suit. Cardinal sighed and let her fingers gently caress the smooth stone of her own charm.

The car had finally arrived at the mansion and had been checked at the front gate. The circle drive wrapped around the entire house and all of its grandeur. Brilliant hedges and flowers surrounded the massive mansion that towered three floors high. Once the car pulled up to the front gate, Samantha's heart dropped. There was plenty of security and people she didn't recognize. She swallowed hard. Nightwing placed a hand on her bare shoulder. "You ready?" She shook her head with a quiet wish that she hadn't accepted this mission. "Just go with the flow. Remember the plan. You'll be fine, I promise." At that, the door opened and the pair stepped out of the car arm in arm. No one paid them much attention until they reached the front door.

"Name?" a serious looking guard holding a clipboard asked. "Rose Wilson, I should be on the list…" Samantha said nervously. It caused the guard to look up at her. "Wilson, correct?" She nodded. The guard leaned over to another guard and the pair began to laugh. Samantha's instinct took over. "Excuse me, but why is this so damn funny?" she said sternly. She put a hand on her hip and noticed Nightwing's surprised reaction out of the corner of her eye. The guards quickly settled down. "Sorry Miss Wilson. I just figured we'd receive a better notice when the daughter of Deathstroke was coming to an event, is all."

Samantha's heart sunk and she shot a death glare to whatever eyes were hiding behind Nightwing's sunglasses. He shrugged. "I am on the list, _right_?" It took every bit of wit to keep her composure. Deathstroke's _daughter?!_ That was definitely a detail Nightwing had overlooked. The guard nodded. "Yes ma'am, but I'm afraid I can't admit your boyfriend here. We don't know who he is." Samantha let go of Nightwing's arm. "Tell me, is my father going to be present tonight?" The guards shook their head, as if they'd been asked this question many times before. "No. He is on a personal mission and unable to attend, but shouldn't you know that?" Samantha frowned. "We don't speak much…he is a bit upset with me at the moment." They cocked an eyebrow, and Samantha was pretty sure she saw Nightwing do the same. "You see, this is his apprentice. I've taken a liking to him, and father isn't very happy with it."

The guards turned to one another, as if unsure of what to make of the situation. After exchanging looks, one of the guards nodded. "Alright, go ahead. But if anyone asks, we didn't let him in." Cardinal nodded at them. "Thanks," she said as she linked her arm in Nightwing's own, and proceeded into the building.

The main hall was grand, and filled with people dancing. There was a live orchestra playing in the corner, and amongst the hall were multiple round tables with golden tablecloths that people were sipping drinks and laughing around. For a convention of villains, this sure seemed like a cherry event. Besides the herds of security looming around and the obvious camera surveillance, the place seemed almost normal…almost. Nightwing took Cardinal by the arm and led her onto the ballroom floor. Several people stopped mid-dance to gaze at them. Samantha halfway thought that perhaps her glamour charm had stopped working and they saw them for who they were before realizing… _Crap, I'm Deathstroke's daughter. I have to make an impression_.

Samantha rolled her eyes at the people who had stopped and turned to her partner in crime, Nightwing. "Shall we dance?" he asked. A small smile appeared on her lips as she placed her hand in his. "Of course," she said and the pair leapt onto the dance floor. For a moment, Samantha forgot why they were there. She was dancing with Nightwing, having the time of her life. He held her so gently and even though Samantha had always been an amateur when it came to dancing, he led her through every step with grace. He was smiling just as much as she was. As the music began to wind down, he spun her and brought her back very close to him. Their faces were close- close enough that their noses barely tickled each other. Her eyes looked into the dark tint of his sunglasses, and for a moment, she had the urge to reach out and take them off. A chill went down her spine at the thought. Instead, she rested her head against his shoulder.

Her mind spun. Was she beginning to have feelings for her mentor? He had to be close to her age. But who _was_ Nightwing? The thought had been bugging her since their first meeting. Why did he feel so familiar to her? Just as she was about to talk to Nightwing, the loudspeakers came on. Lex Luthor was taking the stage.

"Ladies and gentleman. I am very honored to have you here in celebration of our latest news! Finally, after all this work, we've finally come to a decision regarding our relationship with The Reach," Luthor said triumphantly. All eyes were on him. Nightwing led them to a table to sit down to listen. "Fellow…contributors. The council of The Light has come to a decision that The Reach are not to be trusted. They are only here for destruction, and wish for the destruction of Earth. Although we wish for power, destruction cannot be tolerated. Unlike The Reach, we cannot migrate from planet to planet in seek of power. We have our own conquest, am I not correct?" The audience began applauding as Luthor began to walk through the crowd.

"But why hold such a grand event just to announce our stance on this matter? We've all had our suspicions about The Reach. But we finally have the _leverage_ on getting The Reach off of our planet, and even to put ourselves in power! Better yet, it all lies in one girl." Samantha wasn't sure if Nightwing was just trying to keep character, but he put his hand over her own. A chill went down her spine at Luthor's words.

"We all know her as Samantha Bennett- the Gotham University student that went missing a few months ago. The Reach has patrols searching for her, to this very night." Samantha's hand tightened in Nigthwing's own. How could she possibly have leverage over both The Reach, and The Light? Her mind was spinning. Luthor continued on. "It all lies in Project: Beacon, which was anti-inspired by the Justice League's own Project: Extinguish. Unfortunately, I cannot reveal the details of these projects at this time, but I can assure you, the results will be phenomenal. Things will be set in motion. _Tonight._ So, my friends, relax! Enjoy the festivities! Because in the next few days, we'll be on high alert." There was another round of applause as Luthor exited the stage.

Nightwing looked like a ghost- he had turned so pale. Samantha paused. "What's Project Extinguish." He stayed quiet. "Talk to me. Don't leave me in the dark about this. It's about me." He still stayed quiet. "Fine. I'll give you time to think. But don't think you're getting away without explaining this to me," Samantha said as she stood up from the table. "I'm going to the ladies room. I'll be back," she said stubbornly as she began to traverse the mansion's staircase.

Unfortunately for her, the bathrooms seemed to be a mile away. She was on her own in this part of the mansion. She found herself in a long hallway covered with art and grand furniture. It was oddly quiet. Her fingers toyed with the glamour charm around her neck as she explored, slowly changing her purpose from finding a washroom to exploring. Luthor may be a villain, but he had nice taste. She was admiring a piece of art when she felt it. The feeling that she was being watched. Then came the voice.

"Admiring the artwork, Miss Bennett?" Lex Luthor said from behind her.

**((Well everyone, the hiatus is over, and AFITD is officially off hold. I'm glad to back into writing this. I missed it so much. I hope my readers can forgive me for this unforeseen break. D; Continue with the reviews/favorites! They really do help. Thanks guys. Lots of love. :) ))**

**-OpaqueSky **


	13. Chapter 13: The Betrayal

**Chapter 13: The Betrayal**

Samantha froze up. Luthor knew who she was. Or did he? She decided to play the stupid card. "Mr. Luthor, what a pleasure, but I believe you've got the wrong gal'." Lex smiled. "Firstly, Rose Wilson would never speak like that. You really should do your research before donning a glamor charm of someone very affiliated with The Light, Samantha." She swallowed dryly and froze again. She wasn't sure what to say. She had been caught in the lion's den by the lion himself.

Lex reached out a hand and gently unhooked the clasp on her glamor charm, removing it from her neck. The reddish hair of Rose Wilson faded back into the deep red brown that was her natural hair color. Everything that was Samantha Bennett came back- and she was still in her red dress. She felt out of place. She didn't dare stop Lex from removing her glamour charm, either. Any false move, and there was an entire ballroom of villains out there to hold her here. The Cardinal stood her ground- carefully.

"There, much better. I'd prefer to speak to you face to face. No masks," Lex said casually. Samantha wanted to reach for her communicator she had in her clutch purse, but Lex seemed to be reading her mind. "You don't need to call for help. I promise, Samantha, I'm just here to talk. Here, we'll have a seat in the library. It's just around the corner. I assure you, you can trust me." Samantha eyed him cautiously and doubted his words, but she really didn't have a choice at the moment. Luthor led her to just a few doors down, where they entered a very cozy library that was filled wall to wall with books, a few comfy chairs, and a fireplace. Luthor gestured for her to sit down, and she did.

"You're being awfully quiet, Samantha. Are you surprised? You can talk to me, you know. I only come to offer you help. Ask me anything. I come to you as a friend, not as a foe," he said coolly, all the while toying with her glamour charm, as if to mock her.

"How did you know it was me?"

Luthor seemed to laugh at this question, as if he saw it coming. "My dear, the _real_ Rose Wilson approached me just a matter of weeks ago to tell me she was going covert undercover for a mission in Tibet. Even I didn't have a bug in the junior league's system, I would have known you were an imposter immediately."

Samantha swallowed dryly. "A bug?"

"Yes. I've anticipated your arrival since Nightwing began planning this mission. I'm assuming he's your date tonight? He must be uncomfortable. All this talk of the Justice League's plan for you."

"Don't hurt him…please," Samantha said uncomfortably.

"I told you, I'm not here to cause problems. I'm extending my hand out to you," Luthor said as he dug through his tux pocket and withdrew what looked like a plain black flash drive. He fiddled with it between his fingers as he spoke. "Your…_friends_ are keeping secrets from you, Samantha. Once I bugged the system, I found out horrible things. The Justice League fears you and what you are capable of. The Light sees your potential. You think those _things_," he gestured at her disguised cooling cuffs, "will keep you under control? My dear, what you are truly capable of could melt those off your body in half a second. The Reach designed your genome with this in mind. There is so much more for you to discover, but alas, we are short on time. We don't want Nightwing wondering where you ran off to, now do we?"

Luthor held out the flash drive to her. "Take a look at this when no one is around. It holds vital information that you need to know. After reading, you may reconsider your…alliances," he said. Samantha hesitated on taking the USB. Lex, once again, seemed to be reading her mind. "I assure you, there's no trackers. No bugs. Nothing. It's an ordinary USB with documents attached. It came from Wal-Mart, if that makes you feel any better. It's just information. Whether your alliance shifts after taking a look is your call. I'm only here to help."

Samantha took the flash drive and slipped it into her purse. "Will this tell me about Project Extinguish?" Luthor nodded, as if he was expecting the question. "Unfortunately, it does."

The pair stood at the same time and Luthor placed the glamour charm around her neck once again, concealing her identity. "You and Nightwing will leave this place unharmed, but I suggest avoiding Ra's Al Ghul. He has a knack for picking out charms such as those."

Samantha looked at Lex Luthor before they parted ways. "Thank you," she found herself saying, before turning back to the ballroom. Her purse felt heavier.

Nightwing was waiting patiently at the bottom of the stairs. Samantha had to have been gone at least fifteen minutes, but he was surprisingly calm. "Weren't you worried?" she asked. "No. I figured you were mad at me," he said and held out his arm. "Some things are better left unsaid," Samantha said and took his arm. "There won't be any more announcements besides the one Lex made. I overheard a few people talking. It's all a celebration. We'd better get out of here before we run into trouble," he said. The two stepped outside and called for their chauffer (merely a robot) to pick them up for their return trip.

The ride back to the warehouse was quiet. Samantha sat as far away from Nightwing as possible- just like the ride there. Once they had made it back, she quickly removed her glamour charm and placed it to the side as Nightwing mumbled something angrily about Zatanna. She plucked her cotton shorts and a tee shirt out of her sad excuse for a room as she headed to the recently installed showers. The dress was removed, the hot water was turned on, and the teen began to forget the world.

Once she emerged clean and freshly clothed, Nightwing was gone. Where to, Samantha didn't know. Perhaps it was a mission, or the guy just needed some air. Samantha didn't worry. She had some reading to do. In a minute flat, she was sitting at the main computer with Lex's USB in her hand. With a sigh, she inserted it and opened the first file.

There was no surprise at first. It was just a newscast and a digital article about her disappearance, along with whatever information The Light could dig up about her. The next file, however, was titled, _"Genome Information: Subject 1486: Samantha N. Bennett" _She opened the file, only to find it completely encrypted in Reach symbols. "That's no help," she whispered to herself. Just as she was about to move to the next file, the computer's software began decrypting and translating the file. It converted to English- it wasn't perfect, but she got the gist of it.

It described her capture by The Reach. The testing. The development of the genome she now possessed. Apparently it had taken months to get the genome right. According to the records, however, it wasn't made for fire manipulation- not a mention was made about fire manipulation…but energy manipulation. This genome was apparently very powerful. The document went on to detail her body's _almost rejection and shut down _of the genome, and how she barely survived trials, yet this genome was named to be "power of the masses". Goosebumps appeared on her arms. How did Lex get this information? She shook her head and moved to the next document.

**_"Project: Extinguish"_**

Tears began to well in her eyes when she read the abstract of the "plan of action".

"_In the case that genome-infected subject a) aligns itself against the Justice League or its affiliates or b) poses a threat to the Justice League, its affiliates, or citizens of Earth, or c) expresses a loss of control in genome abilities, the Justice League reserves the right to capture and terminate the subject at all costs for the safety of others."_

_ They want to kill me if I "lose" control._

_ I'm a "subject" to them._

_ "It"._

Samantha cried for what seemed like an hour before she had the courage to read the rest of the project details, which included nothing but clauses and conditions, all referring to her as a subject, a _thing_ rather than a person. Nightwing had known all of this, and hadn't told her. She trusted him.

The next document came from STAR Labs. It detailed the very same things the Reach had reported about her energy-manipulation genome, except this contained details of her training, and how STAR Labs would do everything in their power to prevent this genome from reaching its full potential of energy, rather than fire manipulation. Anger began to well up in her chest. What was this energy power, and why was everyone trying to prevent her from using it? Why was the Justice League lying to her?!

The final document was a typed letter from Lex Luthor, addressed to her.

_"Samantha._

_ I'm sure this is all very overwhelming to you. Should you choose, insert the coordinates I've included below into your Zeta Tube transporter, and it will take you to a place where you will no longer be lied to. The coordinates are untraceable. It saddens me to bring this news to you, and that the Justice League would treat you like this. The Light does not wish for this amazing power of yours to be withheld. You have potential, Samantha, and it will not reach its peak with the Justice League. Consider my offer, and The Light will always have its door open for you."_

Just as she had finished jotting down the coordinates, the Zeta Tube lit up.

"Recognized. Nightwing: B01."

Samantha closed the files and removed the USB.

He rushed into the room in full Nightwing uniform. "Cardinal, there's trouble. There's a massive object in the sky- I have no idea what it is, I'm going to the Watchtower for a conference- I need you to-"

Samantha stood up and interrupted him. "You're damn right there's trouble."

"What?" Nightwing said.

"Project Extinguish. It's the Justice League's contract to kill me if I step outside their boundaries."

"Sam…how…?"

"No, _fuck _this. I read the details. I'm a subject, not a person to them. They don't care. Apparently I have these awesome powers, and you guys are just holding me back from them?"

Nightwing remained silent.

"You knew this. I _trusted _you."

The cooling cuffs began to flicker with warnings as her body temperature spiked.

"It wasn't going to come to that, Sam. We had confidence in controlling you-"

"_Controlling me?_ No! For all I know, these cuffs were just another method of repressing what I can really do," Samantha said as she pressed a hand to a cuff and focused heat to melt the cuffs one at a time. They slid off in bended, twisted heaps of metal. Blood began to seep from the holes where the needles once were.

"We can explain, Samantha."

"I don't trust you, Nightwing. Not anymore. You trained me, but not to my full potential. I can't do this anymore," Samantha said as she paced over to the Zeta Tube and began punching in the coordinates she had jotted down. Nightwing put a hand on her arm gently. "Where are you going?"

"Somewhere I won't be lied to anymore," Samantha said and pulled away from him. The Zeta Tube opened for her. Just as she stepped in and took one final look at the warehouse, Nightwing took off his mask and ran for her, an arm outstretched.

Her eyes softened as she met his. "Richard…?!"

It was too late.


	14. Chapter 14: The Light

**Chapter 14: The Light**

"What a pleasure. I wasn't expecting you this early," a voice said out of the darkness. Samantha half expected it to be Luthor, but it was not. The voice was deeper…more sinister. Samantha looked up from her position on her knees on the ground to see none other than Vandal Savage standing above her. His hand was outstretched. "Welcome to The Light, Samantha."

The fact that one of the world's most infamous villains was standing before her sent her into a shock of sorts. She had done it. She had betrayed Nightwing and the Justice League. Her mind flitted back to Project Extinguish. There was now a bounty on her head.

_Nightwing was Richard Grayson. That's why he was so familiar…_

Wherever she was, it was underground. Other than that fact, Savage wouldn't open up as far as where exactly she was. "You're in a better place. No more lies, no more secrets. You'll be safe here," he told her as she was lead through the massive labyrinth of hallways and rooms. Eventually they made it to a massive laboratory that opened up at the top via a massive skylight. Perhaps they were not as far underground as she had thought. There were many machines, scientists at computers, and an eerie massive test tube that stood at the center of the room…restraints were present in the tube as well, as if it were meant for a holding a person.

Chills went down her spine. Had she made the right decision?

_Of course I made the right decision. The Justice League was holding me back. They wanted to kill me._

_ But Nightwing- Richard- he had to have cared about me… he wouldn't let them…_

_ Of course he would! He would never stand against what the Justice League decides!_

She bantered back and forth with herself in her mind until Savage began to speak again. "We have a laboratory of trained specialists here to assist you with reaching your full potential. As you read, _fire is just the beginning_ when it comes to your powers. We've been anticipating your arrival. I will let Mr. Luthor explain," Savage said as none other than Lex Luthor approached the pair. A smile was on his face.

"Miss Bennett! Pleasure to have you here so early," Luthor said and reached out to shake her hand. Samantha took it carefully. "For a few weeks now, we've been assembling the best genome specialists around to study your condition and come up with the best solution. With you on our side, Samantha, we can assure you The Reach will leave Earth and never dare return; and we are aware of your relationship with The Reach," Lex said.

Samantha looked down. "It almost sounds like you knew for a guarantee I was going to come to The Light; making all these preparations just for me," she said. She looked up to see a faint smile on Lex's lips that made Samantha wonder just how long they had been planning this, and why they had been confident enough to make all these preparations.

She was briefed on how her training would go. It would be a series of trials every day except Saturdays and Tuesdays; everything about her would be monitored to ensure she would reach a peak potential- food intake, water consumption, exercise, sleep- it would all be regulated. Part of her missed the Chinese takeout her and Nightwing had gotten many times before. The thought was quickly shaken off.

"I'll show you to your quarters, I'm sure you're exhausted. Tomorrow we will start with a debriefing with me and after that I'll allow the scientists to take over for a few tests. Hopefully we can start trials tomorrow, only if you're feeling well," Luthor said as he led her to a room not very far from the laboratory. It was a simple room- a full sized bed, a dresser, a desk with a lamp and chair. A bathroom was attached with a shower, a sink with little counter space, and a toilet. That was it.

"You'll find uniforms and sleepwear in the dresser. A monitor will come in at seven to bring you in for briefing. Good night, Samantha, and I'm glad you made the right choice."

With that, Lex Luthor exited the room and shut the door behind him. Samantha stood in the middle of the room for what seemed like an hour. This was it. No more fun, no more junk food or laughter, it was time to be serious. But as Samantha slipped into the standard white cotton sleepwear and into bed, thoughts of Nightwing- of Richard- came flooding back to her.

_He had taken his mask off. He ran after you. And you ran._

Uneasiness settled in her stomach.

_He cared about you._

_ Then why did he keep the truth from me?!_

_He wanted the best for you._

_ This is the best for me._

Samantha stood up quickly and ran to the bathroom, where she proceeded to become sick from anxiety.

The teen didn't sleep well at all, and seven in the morning came much too quickly. Just as Luthor had said, a monitor came in to wake her. Unfortunately, it wasn't at all the morning wakeup call she was expecting. The monitor, who introduced herself as Dr. Roberts, proceeded to sit in her room and ask about every detail of her sleep, from an estimated time of falling asleep, to any dreams, to what position she was in when she fell asleep. The woman was quite annoying. "I'll take you to Mr. Luthor now," she finally said and prompted her to get dressed and meet her in the adjacent hallway. Samantha made a sigh of relief when she finally left the room and opened the dressers to see…

It was her old uniform- sort of. It was the same jumpsuit, but rather than black, it was white. The stripe was there, but instead of the deep crimson, it was a bright orange. The entire color scheme had been changed. She slipped in on in a minute. The feeling of wearing it was familiar, comforting, even. She slipped on some tennis shoes that were nearby and headed outside. Dr. Roberts was thankfully quiet on the walk to the briefing room. Once they entered, she promptly left the two of them alone.

"Samantha! I hope your sleep was well. I also see that you're getting acquainted with the uniform? I thought the initial design needed a bit more…color," he said as he gestured her to sit in a chair across from him in the dome-shaped room. There were six panels on the walls surrounding them that were currently blank. A main computer board sat in front of Lex's chair. "It is very…bright," Samantha said as she looked at the orange stripe. Lex smiled. "That was the point, Miss Bennett. We want you to grab attention. If you are to be our Beacon, you need to be bright like one. The uniform, although it feels similar to the material of your old uniform, is created with a very special fabric we designed just for you and your soon to be newfound powers. We call it energy-mesh. It will be very useful to you in terms of conserving and absorbing energy."

All this talk of energy, and Samantha was still not quite sure what it entailed. "What can I do, Mr. Luthor? Energy manipulation… it sounds like a pretty broad topic as far as powers go," she asked. He nodded in agreement. "It is a broad topic, indeed. But broad is a very accurate description of what you can do when your training is complete. But that is for later, firstly, I'm sure you're wondering what Project Beacon is all about. I shall explain."

The next almost two hours were spent detailing the project, which was much unlike the Justice League's plan for her. Just as Samantha had been wondering, the Light had been anticipating her arrival for _months_. She was The Reach's biggest threat, and the Light's greatest hope. In Project Beacon, she would be trained to generate and control the energy supplying the Reach ships and destroy them once and for all. They would harm Earth no longer, and would not survive to destroy another planet. Samantha agreed with the plan. The Reach had kidnapped and experimented on her and many other people across the planet. They had to be stopped.

"Samantha. Being a part of this project will mean many things. You will make enemies. Those who were originally your friends may soon be holding weapons at your throat. However, we will eradicate the Reach. Are you sure you want to proceed?" Lex asked. Samantha raised a hand and let fire spread across her fingertips. It felt…free. "Yes. I want to proceed."

"Welcome to the Light," Lex said, as the screens lit up with the faces of the worst living villains in history.

**(( Another cliffie for you guys. ;) I know things have DEFINITELY turned around for Sam, but I promise you things are about to get epic. I've already got many things planned for this story that will blow your mind. Keep those reviews coming. I've definitely loved reading this last batch that came through with the past two chapters. You guys rock. :)**

**-OpaqueSky))**


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